Defenders' Experts
Coastal Refuges and Sea Level Rise
Over 160 National Wildlife Refuges exist along the 95,000 miles of United States coastline and are in danger of being seriously affected by global warming. Scientists expect sea level to rise as polar ice and glaciers melt, and oceans physically expand. Based on varying models of greenhouse gas emissions, government and scientific estimates range from 4 inches to 3 feet of sea level rise over the next century, with a mean estimated level of 20 inches. If catastrophic melting of the Greenland or West Antarctic ice sheets occurs, sea levels could rise more than 20 feet.
Warmer oceans and a rise in sea level, especially in areas where subsidence and erosion problems already exist, will lead to the saltwater contamination of freshwater, inland shifts of beaches, loss of coastal wetlands and mangroves, declines in coral reef health, further erosion, and turn ecologically important forests into marsh, all while increasing coastal areas’ vulnerabilities to more frequent and aggressive storms and flooding. Warmer oceans and floods may increase harmful nutrient runoff and encourage and prolong harmful algal blooms and tides.
Refuges at Risk 2006This report identified global warming as the single greatest threat imperiling the National Wildlife Refuge system as a whole. Ten refuges facing dire consequences from global warming are featured.
